Clippers re-sign Kawhi Leonard

LOS ANGELES, California (AP):

Kawhi Leonard is staying in Los Angeles after the Clippers re-signed their free-agent superstar yesterday.

Leonard averaged 26 points, 6.8 rebounds, and five assists in his first two seasons with his hometown team.

He suffered a partially torn right anterior cruciate ligament during the playoffs and missed the Clippers’ first Western Conference finals appearance. Leonard had surgery on his knee a month ago. His status for the upcoming season is unknown, and it’s possible he could miss a good portion of it while rehabilitating.

Leonard declined his US$36 million option last week, setting up his ability to sign a maximum contract worth 35 per cent of the team’s salary cap and allowing him to earn upwards of US$3 million more for the 2021-22 season.

The five-time All-Star averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and a career-high 5.2 assists last season while shooting 51 per cent from the field and 88 per cent from the line.

“Kawhi is a transcendent player and a relentless worker who improves himself every day,” Lawrence Frank, Clippers’ president of basketball operations, said. “We share many of the same goals, which include a long-term relationship.”

Frank said the Clippers will “do whatever we can” to support Leonard in his injury rehab.

“We look forward to seeing him back where he wants to be: on the court with his teammates,” Frank said.

Leonard was named to his seventh All-Defensive team last season and his third All-NBA first team.